Deodorant cabinets have been known and used for many years. U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,234,021; 2,828,953; 3,125,407; 3,885,738; and 4,339,079 disclose a variety of different deodorant cabinets. These cabinets are suitable for use in the home since they can be easily opened. They cannot, however, be used in public facilities and restrooms since they can easily be vandalized and broken into thereby permitting the unauthorized removal of the dispersing mechanism and deodorant material located inside. While some deodorant cabinets have been said to be tamper-proof, they have been generally more complex and, therefore, more expensive to produce and more troublesome to use and maintain. Accordingly, there is a need for an inexpensive deodorant cabinet that is both vandal-proof, so as to protect the dispersing mechanism and deodorant material from loss, as well as being simple to use and easy to maintain.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,452,500 discloses a tamper-resistant deodorant cabinet. This cabinet has a cover which is hinged to a back plate and is maintained in the closed position by a latch which cooperates with a protruding member connected to a strike plate. The cabinet is opened by insertion of a key through a keyway in the cover to deflect the strike plate and disengage an engaging member from the latch. However, a variety of objects in addition to the key could be inserted through the keyway, thereby deflecting the strike plate and opening the cabinet.
It would be desirable, therefore, to provide for a vandal-proof and theft-resistant deodorant cabinet which could be used primarily in public facilities and restrooms where vandalism and theft to such devices frequently occurs.